JD Sports is to outsource its IT operations in a five-year contract worth GBP 2 million.

ITPro.co.uk reports that the sports retailer will outsource its data centre and back-office IT operations.

Speaking to the website, Harry Willoughby, JD Sports IT manager, said: "As a leading high street retailer it's imperative our IT operations support JD Sport's business development strategy.

"Our existing data centre infrastructure is no longer viable, and the potential for downtime too great a risk for the business."

He added that the deal follows a successful pilot scheme.

The firm's IT outsourcing plans will be fully implemented by May 2008, and cover payroll, warehouse and stock management systems.

Earlier this month, Wilshire county council announced that it was embarking on an IT outsourcing project which it believes will save it up to GBP 11 million a year.

The council said that this will far outweigh the initial cost of GBP 8 million.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent).